Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 99% of UK towns: half of Penryn is under 30.3
Nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 20% in Penryn. Census day 2021: 11,194 residents and 4,104 households locally. Here, 57% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Residents who describe themselves as White British are rarer here than in 67% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Penryn’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 2,892 full-time students aged 16 and over, 30% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 31% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Penryn’s residents are under 30.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 15 to 24 and 15% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
24% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 2.3 times the share across England’s towns, and 3.8% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
More with no religion than most
55% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 34% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Since 2011, Penryn has grown +24%, faster than 91% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Penryn’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,700 people in 2011; 12,100 in 2024.
The 16 to 29 age group changed most (+46%) and the 0 to 15 least (+9%). In one year, mid-2016 to mid-2017, the population rose by 500, the most of any year.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 31%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 20–24, with 16% of residents, 2.6 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 15%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Penryn, 30.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Penryn ranks above 99% of UK towns on full-time students: 30%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Leave the students aside and Penryn’s other adults look much like England’s: 34% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. The census found that 24% of residents lived at another address a year earlier locally. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Penryn sits above 99% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (11%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cornwall’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 24% in Penryn. The usual figure: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 30%, fewer than in 53% of UK towns.
A larger share of households without a car or van than 66% of UK towns: 18%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Penryn comes in at 28%. Households without a car or van make up 24% across England’s towns. Across Penryn, a quarter of households live in a terraced house.
Penryn ranks above 60% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 7.5%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English make up 97%, against 90% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
More residents with no religion than 98% of UK towns: 55%
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 89% of Penryn · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 34%, against 46% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (4.8%), Mixed or multiple (2.5%) and African (0.4%).
30% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Students and young renters account for much of that. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 7.8%, fewer than in 88% of UK towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 241. 57% of Penryn’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 30% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Penryn’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 11% have none (18%). A levels top the qualifications of 33%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
Of 397 UK towns its size (8,000 to 15,000 people), the 5th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Penryn in age: Tidworth (28.4), Catterick Garrison (29.8), Tilbury (32.5) and Filton (34.3).
Penryn is younger than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penryn | 11,194 | — | 30.3 | 15% | 24% |
| Mylor Bridge | 1,534 | 1.9 mi | 61.1 | 44% | 15% |
| Falmouth | 24,066 | 2 mi | 38.6 | 21% | 21% |
| Perranarworthal | 1,305 | 2.8 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Stithians | 1,613 | 3.1 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 29% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran | 2,129 | 3.6 mi | 55.7 | 36% | 20% |
| Mawnan Smith | 1,001 | 3.8 mi | 57.7 | 39% | 23% |
| Lanner | 2,164 | 5 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Cornwall’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cornwall (or England), summed the same way as Penryn’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Penryn’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,411 people in 2021, against 11,194 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Penryn’s residents
What is the population of Penryn?
The 2021 Census counted 11,194 people in Penryn’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,100 people in mid-2024, 24% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Penryn?
The median age was 30.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 31% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
Is Penryn a student town?
Yes: 30% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (2,892 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Penryn?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 7.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Penryn?
55% said they had no religion and 34% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 8.5% didn’t answer.
Is Penryn good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Penryn’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.